Betel leaves or paan is the most important item in socio-religious life of Hindus. There won’t be any auspicious occasion without betal leaves in India. Also betel leaves is a symbol of freshness and prosperity. According to ayurvedic science, it is used to cure diseases that are caused by air, bile and phlegm. Also it is a best medicine for cold and cough. I and my mom used to chew this betal leaves (Vetrilai) and areca nuts(pakku) when we get affected by cold. Coming to the recipe, betel leaves rice / vetrilai sadham is a one pot meal with lots of health benefits. This betel leaves (vaethalai) rice is very easy to make in a less time, the rice has a distinct flavour and unique taste because of  betel leaf, garlic,cumin and pepper.  This vetrilai sadham is good for all ages from kids to adults. Also it is perfect to pack this rice for lunch box. So do try this herbal (medicinal) rice recipe at home and let me know how it turned out.

Health Benefits of Betel Leaves

• Good for digestion.
• Natural palate cleanser and a mouth freshener.
• Strengthen teeth and gums.
• It has got diuretic properties.

Preparation Time : 10 Mins  Cooking Time : 15 mins    Serves : 1

Ingredients For Betal Leaves Rice

To Grind

• 4 Betal Leaves
• 1/2 Tsp of Cumin
• 1/2 Tsp of Black Pepper

Other Ingredients

• 1 Cup of Cooked Rice
• 10 Small Onion
• 5 Garlic Cloves
• 1/4 Tsp of Turmeric Powder
• Salt to Taste

To Temper

• 1 Tsp of Gingelly Oil
• 1 Tsp of Ghee
• 1 Tsp of Mustard seeds
• 1 Tsp of Urad Dal
• 7 Curry Leaves
• Pinch of Hing (Asafoetida)

Method for betal leaves rice

• Wash the betal leaves. Grind betal leaves, pepper and cumin. Keep it aside.
• Heat a pan with oil and ghee, temper it with the ingredients listed under ” To Temper ” after it sizzles, add onions, garlic cloves and turmeric powder, fry it until it turns golden brown colour. Add ground paste and little water, saute this for 3 mins. Turn off the flame. Add cooked rice and salt, toss well.
• Serve hot with appalam or potato chips.

Tips

• You can also use red chillies while grinding or during tempering for more spicy taste.
• Don’t chose mature betal leaves, use tender ones.

Vendhaya Idli Recipe / Fenugreek idli / Methi idly recipe is simple and easy to make south Indian breakfast dish. Some people might think that adding fenugreek would make idly tastes bitter…but that is not true, it makes the idly soft and tasty, you don’t taste the bitterness. I got this recipe from my amma and this idly recipe is without urad dal, also diabetic friendly idly dish. Those who are allergic to dal, can have this vendhaya idli for breakfast or dinner. Best accompaniment for this vendayam idly are sambar, tomato chutney or idly podi. Making vendhaya idli once in a week, keeps our body cool, healthy and fresh.

• Preparation Time : 10 hrs
• Cooking Time : 10 Mins
• Serves : 4 people

Ingredients

• 3 Cups of Idly Rice
• 3 Tsp of Fenugreek
• Salt as required

• Soak the fenugreek in water for 4 hrs. Soak the idly rice in water for 2 hrs.
• In grinder, first grind the fenugreek and add water little by little. Grind the fenugreek until you get soft and fluffy batter.  Make sure the fenugreek batter looks similar to urad dal batter. Remove and transfer it to a bowl.
• Grind the rice separately and transfer the batter to the same bowl. Mix both the batter with hand along with salt. Let it ferment for overnight.
• The next day, mix the batter with laddle before making idly. Pour the batter in idly plate and steam it for 10 mins. you can wet the hand and dip the index finger to check if it is cooked. If it is sticky, steam it for another 2 mins.
• Hot, soft fenugreek idly is ready to serve with coconut chutney or onion tomato chutney or peanut chutney.

Tips

• Always soak fenugreek and rice separately because the bitterness which gets imparted with rice makes idly bitter.
• Use your hand for mixing for better fermentation.
• For best result of batter, use wet grinder rather than mixie.

Health Benefits of Fenugreek

• 26.2 gram of protein in 100 grams of fenugreek.
• Cure arthritis, skin problems and improve digestion.
• Treat diabetes and lowers blood sugar level.
• Ease child birth for pregnant women.
• Aid milk production in lactating women.

Soft Methi Idly

Technorati tags : vendaya idli,  vendhayam idli recipe,  fenugreek idly, methi idli, south Indian breakfast recipe, south Indian idli, soft idli recipe, idli without urad dal, idly recipe

Potato fry or Easy South Indian Urulaikizhangu (potato) fry or aloo fry is a simple and quick stir fried recipe made with potato. This easy potato curry  goes well with sambar rice or rasam rice or curd rice. I have two other posts of potato side dish recipe – Baby potato roast and potato peas fry. In this recipe, I used sambar powder instead of coriander and red chilly powder. Then the addition of fspices like fennel seeds and garlic gives a nice flavor and a great taste to potatoes. This is very tempting dish in which each bite of potato, you can feel the softness on inside and spicy masala coat on outside. I already posted baby potato roast. Serve this fry along with a bowl of rice topped with ghee and dal,.

    Ingredients 

• 4 Medium Size Potatoes
• 2 Tsp of Sambar Powder
• 1/2 Tsp of Garam Masala
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• 1/2 Tsp of Fennel Seeds
• Salt to taste
• Water as needed

   Method 

• Boil the potatoes along with required water in a kadai (Pan) or in a pressure cooker. Peel the skin of potatoes and chop them into small pieces.
• In a mixie, grind fennel seeds and garlic cloves into a semi coarse powder. Keep it aside.
• Heat a pan with oil, add chopped potatoes, ground masala, sambar powder, garam masala and salt. Keep frying till all the masala coat well the potatoes, sprinkle little water, cover the lid, in a medium flame, allow it cook for 5 mins, again give a gentle stir, cook it for another 5 mins until it gets roasted well. Switch off.
• This easy potato curry  goes well with sambar rice or rasam rice or curd rice.

   Tips

• If you don’t have sambar powder, use 2 Tsp of coriander powder, 1/2 Tsp of turmeric powder and 1 Tsp of red chilly powder.
• You can follow the same procedure for raw banana and colocasia.
•  Always fry the potatoes in a medium flame.
• Temper with mustard seeds and curry leaves, if you wish.
• Adding garlic is to avoid gas flatulence.
• Always cook in irumbu kadai or cast iron pan to get roasted potatoes.

   Health Benefits of Potato

• Easy to digest and facilitates digestion.
• High in vitamin B, C and  minerals.
• Good for skin and brain function.
• Rich in carbohydrates and low in protein, ideal for people who wants to increase their body weight.
• Reduces inflammation.